How one cute kid turned old newspapers into fashion

Lillie Laing, 10, models the outfit she made from the Los Angeles Times. (Martine Laing )

Most of the fashion world is focused on New York Fashion Week and the ingenuity of high-end designers this week.

But we found some fashion ingenuity closer to home in the person of Miss Lillie Laing, 10, who used her father's paper shredder, glue, a ballet tutu, needle and thread to make an outfit from a Sunday print edition of the Los Angeles Times. She wore the ensemble to a school event awhile back, earning the nickname Miss L.A. Times.

Lillie started her budding fashion career by making toilet paper clothes for her Barbies, according to mom Martine Laing. This time, she wanted something she could wear herself.

This strikes me as a much better final use of the paper than bird-cage liner.

With her artistic flair, when the right time comes, Lillie could be a shoo-in to win Cheap Chic Weddings' annual toilet paper gown competition -- if she can out-do Susan Brennan, the Michigan woman who has won for the last two years.